u/, 


NATTVE-AMEllICANISM  • 


DETECTED    AND    EXPOSED. 


• 


'      ^c 


o 


BV   A   NATIVE   AMERICAN.* 


I         ■■■:     'I 


i  r  •  "  '■ 


•  * 


\  '>' 


fCl      ' 


"  -     / 


o 


BOSTON:  ;. .   ^ 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR.  *  ' 

?01.n   .*T   JOKD.VN  Jt    CO'S,    BOSTON.— W.    II.    OK.UIAM,    N.    TORK 
E.    FEKBETT,    &  to"s,    rUII.AUELPHIA. 


*  o 

o       O 

18  45. 


%        ° 


&. 


\ 


Entered  accordino;  ii->  Act  of  Coii;jrr<s.  in  thn  yar  1>!1,  in  the  Clerk'* 
Otfice  oi'  the  District  Cuurt  of  Massachusetts. 


Q. 
o 


.•:^ 


o 
o 


NATIVE-AMERICANISM.  . 


o 


o 


o    O 


A  new  political  party,  called  the  Notice  Amei'ican^ 
party,  has  lately  sprung  into  existence.  Its  members 
prefer  to  designate  themselves  as  American  Republicans. 
The  name  is  of  little  consequence;  the  object^f  this 
tract  is,  to  examine  the  thing;  to  consider  the  princi- 
ples, aims  and  tendencies,  avowed  and  unavowed,  of 
this  new  party ;  to  inquire  how  far  it  is  entitled  to  the 
support  and  suffrages  of  the  patriotic  and  the  good.  In 
pursuit  of  this  object  the  truth  will  be  spoken  plainly 
and  firmly;  without  partiality  and  without  fear.      ^     " 

The  founders  of  this  new  party  allege,  that  these 
United  States  are  in  imminent  danger  of  being  overrun 
by  foreigners,  to  the  irreparable  damage,  and  even  the 
dislodgment,of  the  native-born  citizens,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  republican  institutions.  Very  exaggerated 
statements  are  put  forth  by  the  organs  of  this  party,  as 
to  the  number  of  foreigners  annually  coming  into  the 
country  ;  and  their  character  is  painted  in  the  blackest 
colors.  They  are  described  in  the  "Crisis,"  a  pamph- 
let purporting  on  its  title  page,  to  be  "  issued  under  the 
sanction  of  the  General  Executive  Committee  of  the 
American  Republican  party  of  the  City  and  County  of 
New  York,  '  as  for  the  most  part  paupers,  if  not  crim- 
inals, degraded  and  depraved  as  it  is  possible  tO  imag- ^ 
ine,  with  no  knowledge  of  our  institutions,  nor  fondness 
for  them,  but  with  the  strongest  attachment  to  those  of 
the  countries  they  have  left.     The   ignorance  of  these 


t 

\ 


o 

0 


0     ' 


foreigners  is  insisted  upon  with  great  emphasis.  A  large 
part  of  them,  it  is  said,  do  not  know  the  Enghsli  lan- 
guage, and  a  great  majority  can  neither  read  nor  write. 
This  ignorance  of  English  does  not  seem  to  he  con- 
fined to  foreigners.     The  authors  of  the  "  Crisis"    are, 
/probably,    Native  Americans ;    but  very  limited  is  the 
knowledge  of  the  English  language,  or  of  English  grani- 
%"       mar,  which  that  production  displays.     Perhaps,  howev- 
er, its  patriot  authors,  in  their  horror  of  foreign   dicta- 
<=,      tion,  scorn  to  speaker  write  English,  and  break  through 
o  *      all  the  trammels  of  grammar,  not  because  they  are  ig- 
?:>       norant,  but  to  show  their  independence  of  foreign  con- 
trol !    o  °  b     o 

°  ^°9  Of  one  part  of  the  English  language    they  must,  at 
all  events,  be  confessed  to  be  masters.    There  is  hardly 
a  vituperative  epithet  in  it,  which  they  have  not  culled 
out,    and  applied    to   the  foreign-born   portion  of  our 
population.     Their   object  appears   to  be,  to  kindle  a 
blaze  of  passion  in  the  minds  of  their  readers,  against 
o  „   owhich  both  reason  and  humanity  shall  be  powerless  ;  to 
"     °  |irork  up  the  public  mind  to  such  a  furious  heat  of  min- 
gled rage,  fear,  hate   and  indignation,  as  shall  silence 
common  sense,    frighten    away    justice,    and  convert 
rational  citizens  into  headlong  bigots, 
o  J3ut  there  are  some,  who  in  spite  of  all  excitements, 
will  choose  to  keep  cool.     In  the  present  generation  there 
awv^many  doubters.     Those  who  have  listened  unmov- 
pd  to  the  prophetic  calculations  and  solemn  warnings  of 
father  Miller  foretelling  the  end  of  the  world,  will  per- 
o  haps,  be  able  to  stand  out  against  the  kindred  arithmetic 
/      and  rhetoric  of  the  orators  of  the  >i'ative  American  par- 
<>  ^  ty,  who  just  as  confidently,  just  as  solemnly,  and   no 
doubt  Justus  sincerely,  prophecy  the  speedy  downfall  of 


"  c  °    °o  .  o 


this  republic.  Persons  of  this  cool  temperament  may 
even  attempt  to  gather  consolation  from  the  very  state-, 
ments  designed  to  work  them  up  to  a  phrenzy  of  terror. 
Some  such  may  be  disposed  to  ask, — if  these  foreign  im-  ^ 
migrants  be  indeed  such  a  poverty-stricken,  miserable, 
degraded,  ignorant  creNv,  how  can  they  accomplish  the 
great  deeds  marked  out  for  them?  Can  such  a  set  as 
they,  usurp  possession  of  the  country,  and  revolutionise 
the  government  ?  Has  it  come  to  this,  that  a  few  hun- 
dred thousand  foreign  paupers  and  criminals,  are  more 
than  a  match  for  millions  of  intelligent,  enlightened,  vir- 
tuous native  Americans  7  For  the  native  Americans  to 
be  devoured  by  a  set  of  foreign  vagabonds,  not  a  twen- 
tieth part  their  number,  would  be  more  miraculous  even 
than  the  dream  of  Pharaoh  ;  it  would  be  as  if  one  lean,  ' 
decrepid,  half-starved  yearling  should  swallow  down  a 
whole  drove  of  fat  oxen.  o"  ° 

But  our  Native  American  orators  are  not  thus  to  be  « 
silenced.  They  are  ready  with  a  reply  to  these  doubt- 
ing questioners.  They  aver  that  the  foreigners,  by 
selling  their  votes  to  the  leaders  of  the  great  political 
parties,  already  control  the  politics  of  the  country. 
What  is  more,  the  greater  part  of  these  foreigners  are 
Catholics,  and  as  such,  completely  under  the  control  of 
their  priests.  These  priests,  we  are  told,  to  a  man,  are 
Jesuits,  and  intriguers  of  the  very  worst  description,  the 
sworn  agents  and  servants  of  the  Pope,  whose  object  it 
is,  assisted  by  the  Catholic  princes  of  Europe,  to  over- 
turn our  republican  institutions,  and  to  establish  a  des-o 
potism  in  their  place,  with  an  inquisition,  penal  laws 
against  heretics,  censorship  of  the  press,  and  all  the  oth- 
er machinery  of  wholesome  Catholic  government,  such 

1*  o  ^ 


°      °'„     oO 


O  o 


as  ejiists,  at  this  moment,  in  the  Pope's  own  Italian  do- 
°  "minions.  Here  is  a  plot  indeed;  a  horrible,  treasona- 
ble, gun-powder  plot;  a  damnable  popish  plot,  as  true 
and  as  terrible  as  that  which  Titus  Gates  invented. — 
With  such  a  plot  staring  him  in  the  face,  who  can 
hesitate  a  moment  to  join  the  Native  American 
"S  pgiyty; 

This  is  a  brief,  but  correct  and  comprehensive  account 
p(  the  statements,  reasonings,  apprehensions,  inventions 
and  appfeals,  of  the  Native  American  leaders.  The  pal- 
pable falsehood,  or  the  gross  exaggeration  of  some  of 
oq  these  statements,  the  absurd  and  childish  folly  of  others, 
might  lead  us  to  conclude,  that  few,  except  fools  and 
priest-ridden  women,  could  be  thus  seduced  into  a  cru- 
,,;sade  against  our  foreign-born  fellow   citizens.      This, 

o 

o  however,  would    be  a   hasty   and  a  false  conclusion. 
°°    Exaggerated,  absurd  or  childish  as  most  of  these  state- 
ments and  apprehensions  are,  they  are  directly  address- 
o  ed  to  two  of  the  crudest  and  most  unreasoning  of  hu- 
o°man  passions,  —  national  antipathies  and  religious  hate  ! 
?o       It  is  these  two  terrible  passions,  as  history  informs  us, 
that  have,  in  times  past,  been  the  greatest  scourges  of 
°  mankind.      Antipathy  on  the  part  of  one  community 
towards  another,  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  and 
0       constantly  aggravated  by  the  mutual  infliction  of  new 
g  injuries;    religious  hatred  by  which  fellow  men  have 
J     befen  held  up  to  each  other,  not  merely  as  each  other's 
enemies,  but  as  servants  of  the  devil,  and  enemies  of 

o 

o°     Gpd, — to  wliat  terrible  evils,  to  what  bloodshed,  tor- 

o  o  I 

tures,  horrible  cruelties,  have  these  delusions  given  rise  ! 

o  Under  their  influence  the  very  worst  of  human  actions 

have  been  perpetrated,  —  actions   which  exhibit   men 

'  "    iuothe  frightful  character  of  demons  incarnate,  priding 


o 


'     o 
K. 


°  O 


o 


ff 


themselves  upon  excess  of  wickedness.  National  an- 
tipathy leads  the  savage  to  drink  the  blood,  to  devour  the 
flesh,  to  exult  iii  the  tortures  of  his  enemy ;  religious 
hate  has  sanctified  the  rack,  and  kindled  th«  slow  fire ! 

It  is  the  boast,  the  high  boast,  of  the  age  in  which  we 
live,  that  the  civilized  part  of  mankind  are  beginning 
to  rise  above  the  influence  of  such  barbarous  and  bar- 
barizing sentiments.  It  had  been,  for  ages,  the  dream 
of  poets  and  philosophers,  that  mankind  are,  or  ought 
to  be,  a  band  of  brothers,  all  members  of  one  great  fam- 
ily. Thanks  to  the  facilities  of  intercommunication,  the 
increased  force  of  the  sentiment  of  benevolence,  a  more 
enlightened  perception  of  self-interest,  and  a  more  accu- 
rate knowledge  of  the  means  of  promoting  human  hap,- 
piness,  the  present  age  has  seen  the  first  advances 
towards  realizing  that  blessed  idea  of  a  golden  age  of 
universal  brotherhood !  o  **  ° 

The  authors  of  our  American  independence,  may 
claim  to  have  been  the  first  practical  statesmen,  who 
recognized,  by  their  public  political  acts,  the  brother- 
hood of  the  family  of  man.  In  forming  the  government 
under  which  we  live,  they  went  back  to  first  prniciples. 
It  was  not  any  narrow  notion  of  local  privilege,  or  na- 
tional immunities,  upon  which  they  based  their  political 
system.  It  was  not  the  rights  of  Americans,  but  the 
liighis  of  Man  ! 

So  with  respeci  to  religious  opinions.  They  steered 
wide  and  clear  of  that  union  of  church  and  state,  which 
has  been  and  is  the  source  of  such  scandalous  abuses 
and  such  horrid  tyraimy.  While  they  protected  all  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  particular  opinions  and  usages, 
they  took  care  that  no  sect,  nor  any  alliance  of  sect§, 
should  be  allowed  to  lord  it  over  the  rest,  or  to  suppress 


o   O 


o       o 


oo 


:•:  8 

o  that  freedom  of  inquiry   and  opinion   Uj)on  which  the 
°  progress  of  knowledge  so  intimately  depends. 

The  leaders  of  the  Native  American  party,   as  if  of- 
fended at  these  opening  prospects  of  peace  and  happi- 
^  ness,  seek  to  undo  this  great  work  of  our  fathers.     They 
are  striving  to  wake   from   the   oblivion    to  which  the 
o'   common  sentiment  of  all  enlightened  men  has  consigned 
y  them,  those  horrible  demons,   national  antipathy  and 
°°  religious  hate. 
o    °  °  It  was  only  by  assuming  the  garb  of  virtues,   that 
these  bloody  and  barbarous  passions  were  able,  in  times 
past,  to  exercise  such  an  influence  over  human  feelings 
and  actions.     National  antipathy  took  the  name  of  Pa- 
°      triotism;  while  religious  hatred,  with  the  sword  in  one 
hand  and  the  torch  in  the  other,  passed   itself  off  for 
'  o"^    Piety  and  Benevolence !     It  is  under  these  same  dis- 
guises, that  these  same  hateful  passions  are  now  again 
offered  to  our  embrace.     These  Ameriran  Republicans, 
^o      take  their  own  word  for  it,  are  the  most  patriotic,  pious, 
benevolent  of  men.     Upon  this  point,  however,  it  were 
better  to  draw  our  information  from  other  sources.     I 
shall  accordingly  proceed  to  inquire,  who  are  these  men 
that  have  set  themselves  thus  diligently  to  blow  into  a 
flame  the  expiring  embers  of  barbarism  ;  who  have  com- 
menced preaching  in  our  midst,  a  politico-religious  cru- 
^    sade  of  the  most  dangerous  character  1' 
''^        The  diflerent  members  united  to  form  the  Native 
American  party,  as  at  present  it  exists,  may  be  symbol- 
ized us  the  Head,  the  Body,  the  Feet,  and  the  Tail   of 
°     that  party.     Each  shall  be  described  in  order. 

The  Head  of  the  party,  or  what  evidently  aspires  to 
-^hecome  so,  is  that  monied  faction,  which  ever  since  the 
^  formation  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  has 


\ 


^ 


o 
o 


Bo  O 

been  struggling,  thoughhitherto  with  very  little  success, 
to  obtain  the  control  of  the  government.  A  certain  Well- 
known  orator,  whom  it  is  needless  to  name,  may  be  ta- 
ken as  the  representative  of  this  faction.  He  holds,  aaid 
they  hold,  that  property  is  the  true  basis  of  political 
power;  and  that  the  citizea  ought  to  be  allowed  a 
weight  in  the  political  scale  just  in  proportion  to  the 
heaviness  of  his  purse.  Wc  may  observe  by  tlie  way, 
that  the  example  of  that  gentleman  himself  might  seem 
to  be  a  sullicient  refutation  of  this  doctrine,  —  fpr,  .were 
it  strictly  enforced,  what  business  would  he  have  oto 
meddle  with  politics  ?  •  oO      o   ' 

This  monied,    aristocratic  faction  Ipoks  to  the  gov-° 
ernment  of  England  as  the  true  model.  ^  Uiiiversal  suf- 
frage they  hold  m  utter  abhorrence ;  and  they  can  iKircf-     ° 
ly  pronounce  the  word,   democracy,   without  disgust. 
Every  plan  to  limit  the  right   of  suffrage,    naturally 
enough  finds  favor  with  them.     They  easily  see    that  ° 
if  foreign-born  citizens  are  debarred  of  the  right  of  vo- 
ting, on  the  ground  of  poverty  and"  ignorance,  an  excel- 
lent foundation  will  be  laid,  for  presently  extending  the 
same   rule   to   the  native-born.     Besides,    this  faction 
has  a  special  quarrel  of  its  own  with  the  foreign  pbpu-  » 
lation.     Our  foreign-born  fellow  citizens,  whatever  may 
be  said  of  their  political  ignorance,  have  always  had     ,-, 
wit  enough  to  know  their  friends  from  their  enemies.     § 
Having  fled  from  aristocritic  oppression  at  home,  they 
have  no  fancy  for  lielping  to  introduce  that  sort  of  gov- 
ernment into  the  country  of  their  adoption.      Hence 
tbey  have  always  voted,  almost  in  a  body,  against  the    . 
would-be  aristocracy,  —  giving  their  united  support  to 
tlie  party  which,  for  the  time-being,  professed  the  most 
libera;  principles.     Hence  these  tears-  hence  this  rage 


o 


;       '10 

^o     of  the  moiiied  faction,  against  the  exercise  ot  the  right 

\  of  voting  by  foreign-born  citizens.     Hence,  it  was,  that 

,    John  Adams   procured  the  passage  of  the  alien  law ; 

hence,  the  harping  upon  this  subject,  by  the  high-toned 

°    federal  and  high-toned  whig  papers,   from  that  time  to 

,  this ;  and  hence,  the  opening  of  the  flood-gates  of  Mr. 

Webster's  indignation   against   foreigners,   in  his  late 

1        speech  at  Faneuil  Hall. 

' g  This  monied  faction  long  ago  found  out,  tliat  the  open 

avowal  of  their  political  principles,  is  a  certain  means 
(b  ensure  their  defeat.     Hence  they  are  obliged  to  bring 
'   ^    them  forward  under  cover.     Some  of  the  more  brazen- 
I       faced,  even  venture  to  assume  the  character  of  demo- 
°crat^;  and  flourish  forth  sentiments  in  their  public  ad- 
dress"., which  they  repudiate  in  private,    with  the  bit- 
terest scorn.     But  this  constantly  playing  the  hypocrite 
is  an  irUsomc  business.     Notliing  could   delight  them 
more,  than  to  find  a  subject  upon  which  they  can  speak 

S       candidly  and  sincerely,  and  yet  hope  to  carry  a  certain 
portion  of  the  people  with  them.      Hence  the  eagerness 
_?p    with  which  they  have  clutched  at  Native  Americanism. 
^     What  better  sport  for  these  would-be-aristocrats,  what 
more  likely  to  confirm  them  in  their  opinion  of  the  in- 
capacity of  the  people   to  govern  themselves,   than  to 
entangle   their  fellow  citizens  in   the  net  of  prejudice, 
°to  cotwert  their  antipathy  against  foreigners,  into  a  snare 
for  themselves'? 

The  Body  of  the  Native  American  party,  that  which 
gives  it  such  strength  and  force  as  it  has,  and  whence 
alone  it  is  likely  to  become  formidable,  consists  of  a  great 
.    number  of  all  stations  in  soci<^ty.  and   of  all  sliades  of 
o      political  opinion,  many  of  them  intelligent  and  well-in- 
lending  men,  who  dread  and  hate  their  foreign  fellow 

i  '        * 


11 


o 


citizens,  not  so  much  because^ they  are  foreigners,  as  be-  " 
caJise  they  are  CathoHcs.  „ 

This  Anti-Catholic  sfentiment  is  very  deeply  roofed 
in  these  United  States ;  nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at<,  °  ft 
is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  atrocities  which,  in 
former  times,  the  Catholic  clergy  committed,  in  order  to 
retain  their  despotism  ovei  the  public  mind.  The  mem-  "^ 
bers  of  a  sect  whose  priests  and  leaders  have  plaimed  °  ° 
and  exercised  the  right  to  proscribe,  denounce  and  ex- 
communicate every  body  else,  ne6d  not  be  surprised  at 
finding  themselves  excommunicated  and  denounced; 

But  though  this  Anti-Catholic  sentiment  be  natural,     ° 
and  to  a  certain  extent,  ^ust,   we  must  t^ke  good  care 
that  it  does  not  betray  us  into  unjust  measures.     The  o 
heaviest  charges  against  the  Catholic  faith  are,  that  it 
does  not  recognize  the  liberty  of  religions  opin'on  ;    and^ 
that  it  calls  in  the  aid  of  the  secular  power  to  punish 
heresy,  and  enforce  conformity.     Shall   we,  out  of  ha»- 
tred  of  these  tyrannical  doctrines  and  practices,  be  our- 
selves guilty  of  the  very  same  thing  which  we  charge^ 
upon  the  Catholics'?     Shall  we,  out  of  love  of  religious 
freedom,  refuse  torecognize  the  liberty  of  religious  opin-  ° 
ions,  and  punish  the  Catholics  with  political  disabilities  ?     ^ 

Impatience  of  contradiction,  intolerance  of^  opinions 
different  from  their  own,   fondness  for  despotic  power, 
and  the  clairu  to  be  God's  representatives  on  earth,  are,  ^    ' 
by  no  means,  ^peculiar  to  the  Catholic  clergy. 

The  priests  of  all  religions  are  alike. 

r.        Q  O 

Toleration  is  not  a  religious,  Jjut  a  philosophical  doc- 
trine, which  no  priesthood  has  ever  admitted^  except 
just  so  far  as  circumstances  compelled  it.  What  stronger 
proof  of  bigotry  and  intolerance,  could  we  have,  ^han 
the  zeal  with  which  so  many  clergymen  and  church 

■^  .,  ~  o 

•  .,  O  -,       ,  o      o  o 

'■  •  »  ■  Q 

•  O  •  •       •  . 


o 


•    4.    -•        ." 

^■^'    '^  12 


=  members  of  the  principal  protestant  sects,  have  been  at 
work,  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  trying  to  kindle  up  in 
s^  the  public  mind,  a  dread  and  hatred  of  the  Catholics? 
Considering  our  history  and  education,  one  would  think 
that  the  popular  mind  was  quite  enough  imbued  already 
with  such  sentiments.  What  then  shall  we  say  of  those 
who  have  made  it  a  business,  with  very  little  scruple  as 
to.  the  kind  of  means  they  employed,  a  business  in  which 
they  have  succeeded  but  too  well,  to  inflame  these  senti- 
ments to  the  height  of  riot,  arson,  and  murder? 

These  men  pretend  to  preach  a  religion  of  peace,  char- 
ity and  good  will ;  —  yet  is  there  more  than  one  perfum- 
ed flourisher   of  white   cambric   pocket-handkerchiefs 

long  them,  afraid  to  advocate  the  cause  of  the  slave, 


"V 


too  timid  to  preach  against  the  grog-shops  or  the  distillers, 

ho  seek  popularity  by  the  safer  and  more  congenial 

task  of  maligning  the  members  and  clergy  of  another 

»sect,  who  must  be  very  bad  Christians  indeed,  if  they 

°     have  half  the  bitterness,  malice,  recklessness   of  truth 

and  justice,  pitiful  time-serving,  and  fondness  for  filthy 

'-    lucre,  so  obvious  in  their  assailants. 

^  Jt  belongs  to  the  laity  of  all  denominations  to  keep 

'^o  °  these  rampant  priests,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant, 

o"    in  order.     No  doubt,  could  they  have  their  own  w^ay  in 

othis,matter,  they  would  soon  bring  back  the  times  of 

*  the  Religious  civil  wars.     The  scenes  lately  enacted  in 

^  *°°the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  are  quite  enough  to  show, 

0       that  we  are  somewhat  nearer  those  times,  than  many 

°  "have  i margined.     The  y  ought   to  satisfy  us  too,  of  the 

great  danger  to  the  public  peace,   attendant  upon  the 

preaching  and  agitation  of  fiery  bigots,  of  whatever  sect. 

o°  There  a|e,  in  all  sects,  a  number  of  men,  whose  religion 

seems  .wholly  to  consist  in  a  violent  hatred  against  those 


C 


a  '         lO  o  O  o° 

who  entertain  difierent  opinions  ;  such  men  are  quite  '  , 
as  numerous,  it  is  to  be  feared,  and  quite  as  active  o 
among  Protestants  as  among  Catholics.  •  o 

Surely  our   thoughtful  and  inteUigent  countrymen,    ^ 
whatever  opinions  they  may  entertain  of  the  Cathohc 
religion,  do  not  intend  to  put  themselves  under  the  guid-  '^ 
ance  of  such  leaders.     The  doctrine  of  civil  disabilities  5 
on  account  of  religious  opinions  being  once  proclaime4*^ 
and  established,  who  can  tell  v/here  we  shall  stopj 
The  Catholics  are  the  victims  now,  but  when  the  Cath- 
olics are  disposed  of,  whose  turn  will  it  be  next  ?     Ther^*"/ 
are  three  gieat  protestant  sects  in  the  country,  Presby-  ^  / » 
terians.  Baptists  and  Methodists,  who  call  themselves        o 
par  excellence,  Evaiigelical,  and  whp  declare,  that  the 
Unitarians  and  Univcrsalists  are  not  Christians.  ^  If  a  o 
man  is  to  be  deprived  of  his  right  to  vote  because  he  is  o    o 
a  Catholic,  surely,  just  as  little  ought  he  tobeallowecl<to 
vote,  if  he  be  not  a  Christian.     Once  introduce  the  prlip- 
ciple  of  making  a  man's  civil  rights  dependent  oA  the 
cluirch  to  which  he  goes,  and  the  very  worst  droctrine 
which  Catholicism  ever    proclaimed,   the  very  worst 
practices  which   it  ever  established,  will  have  become 
part  and  parcel  of  our  free  institutions.     Is  this  wha|  js  - 
meant  by  American  Republicanism  ]       'o     „        °  °    '     ^o 

We  pass  now  to  the  third  of  the  members  of  which 

-  c  Qj  o    o 

the  Native  American  party  is  composed.     This  third    ° 
member  has  been  designated   as  its  Fefet,  and'' consists         ° 
of  a  knot  of  political  adventurers,  lately  haiigers-on  up- 
on the  other  two  political  parties,  who  finding  their  ser- 
vices little  valued  and  but  slendc  'y  rewa^ded^,  hsLve^m-  °      ° 
braced  this  opportunity  to  set  uj  for  thekiselves.     1;  is 
they  who  have  put  this  Nativ    Ameriqan  par^y   into 


8 
o 


O  o 


%    '  °  .\ 

%  OO  O       o 

motion;  and  they  doubtless  expect  to  attain  by  means 
of  it,  to  stations  of  political  consequence  and  emolument. 
If  they  can  but  succeed  in  that,  they  care  very  little 
what  mischief  they  may  do,  or  what  firebrands  of  dis- 
cord they  may  scatter  through  the  community. 

The  fourth  member,  the  Tail  of  this  Native  American 
party,  consists  of  all  the  idle,  vicious,  and  depraved, 
who  unfortunately  are  too  numerous,  among  our  na- 
tive-born population.  All  such  are  but  too  apt  to 
believe,  especially  when  they  have  rich  men,  priests, 
and  ppliticians  to  tell  them  so,  that  the  poverty  and 
.degradation,  the  results  of  their  own  idleness  and  vices, 
or^  oT  grog-shop  seductions,  have  been  forced  upon 
thetn  by  tiie  competition  of  foreigners  ready  to  work  for 
°    °    h^f  wages.         "    y 

°^     Such  then  is  the  motley  composition  of  this  new 

cparty ;     ptirse-proud  aristocrats,   bigoted  priests,  shuf- 

°  fling  politicians,  the  sweepings  of  the  grog  shops; — all 

these  would  be  little  formidable,  were  it  not  thit  they 

oo  Q  h^ve  carried  with  them,  a  considerable  body  of  honest 

itien   and   good  citizens,   whose   prejudices  they  have 

sftcceeded   in    taking   advantage   of,  and   whom    they 

"o  c^mean  to  make  the  instruments  of  their  evil  designs. 

o""®      '^he  aristocrats  wish  to  limit  the  right  of  sufl'rage, 

and   thus   take   the  first  steps  towards  getting  rid  of 

o°  democrrcy.     It   is  by  such   means,   that  democracies 

O 

have  always  been  supplanted,  sooner  or  later,  and 
aristocratic  governments  introduced  in  their  place. 
The  priests  wish  to  do  that  very  tiling,  which  they 
charge  against  the  catholic  clergy.  They  wish  to  es- 
tablish religious  tests,  religious  penal  laws,  and  to  com- 
pel people  to  join  their  communion  by  the  terror  of 
political   disabilities.     The  political  adventurers  wish 


CF 


15 


o% 


to  elevate  themselves  upon  the  whirlwind  of  social 
strife;  and   the  sweepings  of  the   grog-shops  chuckle 

G  , 

over  the  idea  of  rioting  and  destroying  with  impmuty. 
The  good  and  sober  citizens  who  have  been  betrayed 
into  an  alliance  with  such  associates,  have  no  such  evil 

o 

designs.  Misled  by  prejudices  artfully  fomented,  (Re- 
ceived by  false  statements,  inflamed  by  declamation, 
they  believe  that  the  comitry  is  really  in  danger.  They 
are  persuaded  that  the  foreigners  are  indeed  tljose  terri-  c 
ble  creatures  the  Native  American  orators  paint  them, — <> 
a  flight  of  devouring  locusts,  an  invading  army  of  evil 
spirits,  against  whose  machinations  it  is  necessary  to 
guard.  '^ 

Let  us  proceed  then  to  examine,  somewhat  in  detail,    < 
the   particular    allegations    upon    which    the    Native 
American  writers  rely;  and  to  inquire,  how  far  those 
allegations  afford  any  foundation  for  the  edifice  of  terror  o 
erected  upon  them.  »  • 

As   to   the   number   of  foreign    immigrants.     Jt  is   ° 
estimated,   but   witliout   any   sufficient   data,   by  the 
American  Republicans,  that  the  number  of  foreigners 
immigrating  into  this  country,  has  averaged  one  hun- 
dred  and  fifty  thousand   annually,    for   the   last   ten 
years.     Probably  this   estimate  is   at  least   twice  the 
truth.     It  is  assumed  that  within  these  ten  years,  tlie 
annual  number  of  immigrants  has  doubled:  and  it  is 
taken  for  granted  that  the  same  ratio  of   increase  will°^ 
continue  indefinitely.     Then,  supposing  that  none  jof  o 
these  foreigners  die — and  the  Native  Americans  have 
endowed  them,  among  other  attributes  of  devils,  withe 
the  gift  of  immortality — within  ten  years,  we  shall  have 
in  the  country,  in  addition  to  those  already  here,  three 


.0° 

o 


0 

II  o 


I* 


16 


9   " 


millions  of  foreigners;  within  twenty  years,  nine  mil- 
lions; within  tliirty  years,  twenty-one  millions:  and 
^within  the  next  thirty-five  years,  thirty-three  millions 
of  foreigners  !  (See  Crisis,  p.  22.) 
■  Surely  the  authors  of  this  calculation  either  must  be 
fools  themselves,  or  must  reckon  largely  upon  the  folly 
$ind  credulity  of  others.  Within  thirty-five  years,  the 
r^e  of  immigration  is  to  reach  two  millions  four  liuu- 
dred  thousand  a  year,  bringing  into  the  country, 
in  ten  years,  twenty-four  millions  of  immigrants ! 
This  is  considerably  more  than  the  entire  population 
of  Ireland  and  Northern  Germany,  whence  the  great 
bulk  of  our  immigrants  come;  and  this  too  notwith- 
standing the  same  countries  in  the  preceding  thirty-five 
years,  will  have  parted,  according  to  this  account,  with 
eighteen  millions  of  their  inhabitants  ! 

It  is  probable,  upon  the  largest  calculation,  tliat  the 
number  of  persons  born  in  foreign  countries  now  resi- 
dent in  the  United  States,  may  amount  to  a  million,  or 
about  one  in  twenty,  of  the  whole  population.  If  we 
suppose  the  average  immigration  for  the  next  five 
and  thirty  years  to  amount  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  a  year,  which  is  a  very  liberal  allow- 
ance, there  may  be  in  the  country  at  the  end  of  that 
period,  making  due  deduction  for  deaths,  some  five 
millions  of  foreign-born  inhabitants.  But  by  that  time, 
the  entire  population  will  amount  to  upwards  of  fifty 
millions;  so  that  even  then,  the  foreign-born  will  be  but 
one  tenth  part  of  the  entire  population. 

But  this  balancing  and  contrasting  the  numbers  of 
the  foreign-born  and  native-born  inhabitants,  proceeds 
altogether  upon  an  assumption  as  dangerous  as  it  is  false. 


17  *  •   a     o  O 

O 

0° 

It  assumes  that  there  is,  and  must  be,  something  hos-     * 
tile  between  the  two  classes.     The  only  ground  upon  *     ' 
which  ihe  increase  of  the  foreign-born  population  can 
reasonably  be   deprecated,  is,  that  there  is  something    ^ 
about  foreign  immigrants  incompatible  with  their  be- 
coming good  citizens.      This  indeed  the  American  Re- 
publicans allege.  I         ,        o 

The  first  charge  brought  against  the  immigrants  by     , 
the  American  Republicans,  is,  that  they  are  poor.     It    . 
is  even  pretended  that  the  greater  part  of  them  are 
paupers    fresh    from  the  alms-houses  of  Europe,  sent    °  ' 
hither  to  relieve  their  parishes  of  the  burden  of  sup-   '- 
porting  them,  and  immediately  on  their  arrival,  seeking   ° 
relief  from  charity.     This  is  one  of  those  reckless  asser-° 
tions  which  shows,  how  utterly  careless  of  truth  the 
American  Republicans  are;   and   which  must  soon  de- 
stroy their    credit    with    all  intelligent  and  thinking 
men.     A  few  paupers  no  doubt,  have  been  sent  to  the 
country.    These  are  rare  exceptions.     Every  body  who   ° 
has  eyes  knows  perfectly  well,  that  the  great  mass  of 
our  foreign-born  citizens,  are  industrious  hard-working 
men,   who   support  themselves  by  the  sweat   of  their    o 
brows,  and  who  would  scorn  to  ask  or  receive  charity 
from  any  body. 

So  far  from  being  the  sweepings  and  offscourings  of  * 
their   native   countries,  as  the   American  Republicans 
pre       \  the  great  bulk  of  those  who  emigr  te  hither^    ° 
arethe  very  elite  of  the  laboring  population  of  Europe.  " 
It  is  only  the  better  part  of  the  European  laborers,  the'' 
more  industrious  and  economical,  who  can   find   the 
means  to  emigrate;  it  is  only  the  more  enterprising,     o 
thoughtful,  and  better  informed,  who  have  the  disposition. 

2*  '     °o 

'i    %    , 

o 

•-  o 


\ 


19 

Nor  is  it  true  that  the  immigrants  are  so  universally 
destitute  of  means  as  the  American  llepubUcans 
represent.  A  large  portion  of  the  German  immigrants 
bring  money  with  them,  and  they  constitute  a  wealthy, 
as  well  as  a  highly  respectable  and  valuable  portion  of 
the  population  of  several  of  our  new  Western  States. 

But  grant  the  charge  in  its  fullest  extent, — grant  that 
these  foreign  immigrants  are  poor.  Is  poverty  so  des- 
perate and  unpardonable  an  offence,  that  all  guilty 
of  it,  are  to  be  disfranchised;  declared  incapable 
and  unfit  to  exercise  the  right  of  citizens  7  Here  we 
.see  the  cloven  foot  of  the  monied  aristocracy  !  Here 
we  see  an  entering  wedge  for  the  principle,  that  no  one 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote,  wlio  has  not  a  certain  pecuni- 
ary qualification. 

Of  all  the  numerous  immigrants  who  annually  leave 
iVew  England,  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  the  other  States 
of  the  Union,  how  many  are  rich?  How  many  have 
much  more  than  the  clothes  on  tlieir  backs  1  Yet  from 
this  immigration  do  many  of  the  sister  States  derive 
their  legislators,  their  judges,  their  most  worthy  and 
influential  citizens.  If  pov'erty  is  to  work  disfranchise- 
jnent^  where  shall  we  stop  ?  Is  not  poverty  just  as 
great  a  sin  in  a  yankee  as  in  a  foreigner? 
,^  If  the  truth  were  known,  a  good  deal  of  this  late 
outcry  against  foreigners,  has  arisen  not  so  much  l>om 
thetr  poverty,  as  out  of  envy  at  their  wealth.  Already 
have  many  who  arrived  here  with  nothing  but  their 
hands,  succeeded  by  industry,  economy  and  the  exer- 
cise of  their  sagacity,  in  amassing  considerable  fortunes, 
^he  possession  of  this  property  makes  them  objects 
of  envy  to  many  native-born  citizens,  infinitely  below 


«  e 

»    e 


19 

them  in  every  good  trait  of  character ;  and  from  enyy, 
it  is  but  n  short  step  to  hatred  and. abuse.  , 

Thus  "Tlie  Crisis/'  with  admirable  consistency,  after 
dwelhng  with  great  emphasis  upon  the  poverty  and 
destitution  of  our  foreign-born  citizens,  grows  vastly 
indignant,  a  few  sentences  after,  at  its  own  account  of 
the  great  sums  remitted  home  by  the  Irish  in  this  coun- 
try, to  assist  their  friends  and  relations,  in  coming 
hitiier, 

IJut  according  to  the  iSative  American  oracles,  not 
only  are  the  foreign  immigrants  who  arrive  here,  poor, 
they  are  intolerably   idle.     Were  this  charge  alleged 
against  certain  rather  conspicuous  American  Republi- 
cans, abundant  evidence  might  be  produced  to  sustain 
it.     When  brought  against  the  body  of  our  immigrant 
population,  it  is  utterly  false,  and  has  indeed  been  an- 
swered already.     There  are  idle  individuals  among  the 
immigrants,  as  there  are  among  the  native  Americans ; 
but  the  great  body  are  industrious  hard-working  men. 
^.Vho  have  dug  our   canals,  and   built  our   railroads; 
who  sweep  our  streets  and  clean  our  common  sewers; 
who  do  the  largest  part  of  the  hardest  and  least  inviting 
work  }     Is  it  not  those  very  immigrant  foreigners  thus 
unjustly  accused  of  idleness  7     The  Native  American 
editors  cannot  even  dispose  of  their  newspapers,  except 
by  employing  Irish  boys  to  sell   them.     The   autliors 
of  "The  Crisis"  (p.  10)  refer  to  certain  official  documents 
as  showing,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  immigrants  s  " 
who  arrive  here,  have  no  occupation  whatever !     This  % 
means,  being  interpreted,  that  after  deducting  the  wo-  g 
men  and  children,  of  those  who  remain  the  greater  part  ^^ 
have    no    profession    or   trade,    but   are   merely   day  ^o" 
laborers. 


0 

O 


o 
O 


O         o 


20 


The  Ih'ird  charge  against  the  foreign  immigrants  is, 

that  they  arc  drunken,  dissolute,  and  a  large  proportion 

of  them  criminals.     Unfortunately  it  is  too   true,  that 

numbers  of  immigrants,  as  well  as  a  still  greater  num- 

iv    ber  of  native-born  citizens,  fall  victims  to  the  hundreds 

-^     of  grog-shops,  set  like  traps  in  every  nook  and  corner 

f     of  our  great  cities.     They  are  first  seduced  into  drunk- 

»^     enness,  and  then  betrayed  into  crime.  But  the  remedy  for 

this  is  obvious,  and  easy.     Shut  up  your  grog-shops ! 

With  all  the  progress  which  the  glorious  cause  of 
temperance  has  made,  our  towns  and  cities  hold  out  to 
the  luiwary,  greater  facilities  and  temptations  to  drunk- 
\  enness,  than  any  other  spots  upon  the  face  of  the  globe  ! 
It  is  we  who  are  to  blame  in  this  matter,  not  the  immi- 
grants.    They  are  but  the  victims. 

Of  the  crimes  committed  by  foreign-born  residents, 
by  far  the  greater  part  can  be  traced  to  the  grog-shops. 
Close  them,  and  you  may  shut  up  half  your  prisons  at 
the  least. 
"'  ^  As  to  the  idea  insinuated,  if  not  directly  charged  by 
'"■  '  the  Native  American  organs,  that  a  large  part  of  the 
emigrants  who  arrive  here,  have  been  criminals  at 
homo,  it  is  one  of  those  extravagant  falsehoods  which 
serve  to  prove,  that  whatever  other  vices  we  may  have 
derived  from  abroad,  the  vice  of  lying  flourishes  here 
in  full-blown  native  perfection. 

But   up  come   the  American   Republicans,    with    a 
fourth  charge.    The  emigrants  are  intolerably  ignorant, 
whotlicr  in  a  literary  or  political  point  of  view,  and 
therefore  utterly  unfit  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  citizenship. 
J  It  is  alleged  that  half  the  imeniigrants  who  arrive  in 

this  country,  are  unacquainted  with  our  language.   This 
no  doubt  is  a  misfortune, — but  that  it  is  a  fault,  is  not 


o 

O     o 


21 

quite  so  clear.  Though  the  American  Republicans 
may  not  have  thought  of  it,  it  is  possible  nevertheless, 
for  a  man  to  be  very  well  informed,  and  yet  not  know 
English.  There  are  in  the  French  and  German  lan- 
guages, some  writings  almost  as  valuable  perhaps  as 
our  American  Republican  newspapers,  and  pamphlets. 
In  those  parts  of  the  country  where  the  Germans  have 
settled  in  bodies,  they  have  newspapers  of  their  own, 
and  the  laws  and  public  documents  are  officially  pub- 
lished in  German.  Where  they  are  less  numerous,  they 
find  themselves  obliged  to  learn  English  for  their  own 
convenience. 

But  it  is  alleged  that  the  larger  part  of  the  emigrants 
are  totally  illiterate,  and  cannot  read  or  write  in  any 
language.  This  statement  is  greatly  exaggerated.  The 
Germans  all  come  from  countries  in  which  instruction 
is  rigidly  enforced  by  law;  and  where  every  body  is 
obliged  to  learn.  Many  of  the  Irish  are  quite  unin- 
structed  ;  but  the  immigrants  from  most  other  countries, 
possess  at  least  the  rudiments  of  education. 

If,  however,  we  are  going  to  lay  it  down  as  a  rule, 
that  nobody  shall  have  the  rights  of  citizenship,  who 
cannot  read  and  write,  we  shall  have  to  disfran- 
chise quite  as  many  native-born,  as  foreign-born,  citi- 
zens. It  appears  by  the  last  census,  that  in  the  state 
of  Virginia,  one  in  twelve  of  the  free  population  over 
twenty,  are  unable  to  read.  The  same  ratio  prevails  in 
South  Carolina.  In  the  state  of  Tennessee  it  is  otie  m 
eleven;  in  North  Carolina,  one  in  nine;  in  Kentucky 
and  Georgia,  one  in  thirteen.  It  is  perfectly  notorious 
that  in  all  thes3  states,  the  number  of  foreign-born 
citizens  is  very  small.  iS'othing  can  exceed  the  men- 
dacious dishonesty  of  the  "General  Executive  commit- 


tee  of  the  American  Republican  party  of  the  city  and 
county  of  New  York,"  in  sanctioning  the  statement, 
contained  in  their  pamphlet,  "The  Crisis,"  (p.  39,)  that 
not  more  than  one  in  twenty  of  these  nninstructcd  per- 
sons is  a  native  American.  The  truth  is  altogether  the 
other  way; — in  the  states  enumerated,  not  one  in 
twenty  is  of  foreign  birth. 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  this  proposal  to  disfranchise  a 
part  of  our  fellow  citizens  on  the  ground  of  their  ignor- 
ance, will  take  a  pretty  wide  sweep,    and  involve  in 

'  common  degradation,  no  small  number  of  the  home- 
born.  This  may  be  very  agreeable  to  that  aristocratic 
faction  which  regards  with  disgnst  the  extension  of  the 
right  of  suffrage,  and  which  eagerly  clutches  at  every 
means  of  curtailing  popular  influence.  But  those  among 
the  Native  Americans  who  are  sincere  democrats,  those 
who  are  indisposed  to  give  iip  the  control  of  the 
government  into  the  hands  of  an  aristocracy,  may  as 
well  think  a  little  what  they  are  about.     To  deny  the 

,  right  of  voting  to  those  who  cannot  read  and  write,  is 
but  the  first  step;  and  according  to  the  French  proverb, 
it  is  but  the  first  step  that  costs.     Once  establish  the 

,  principle,  that  want  of  information  is  to  disqualify  from 
voting,  and  how  easy  it  will  be  to  go  on  limiting  the 
number  of  the  qualified  ! 

But,  say  the  American  Republicans,  these  immi- 
grants whether  they  can  read  or  not,  are  politically  ig- 
norant in  the  highest  degree,  with  no  knowledge  of  the 
forms,  much  less  of  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  and 
therefore  unfit  to  be  received  as  citizens. 

/^  It  were  to  be  wished  that  political  ignorance  were 
confind  to  immigrants.     There  is  too  much  reason  to 

'     fear  that  it  prevails  to  a  most  alarming  extent  among 


o    o 

I 


O 
b 


23 

native-born  citizens.  One  Mr.  Green,  editor  of  the 
New  York  American  Republican,  made  his  appearance 
a  few  nights  shice,  in  Fatieuil  Hall,  in  Boston,  and 
there  delivered  a  speech  wliich  was  received  with  un- 
bounded applause;  and  y«-t  that  speech,  as  reported  in 
the  Daily  Pennant,  one  of  the  new  Boston  organs  of 
the  American  Republican  party,  exhibited  a  most  lam- 
entable degree  of  political  ignorance.  Among  other 
things,  this  orator  asked — "  What  are  the  rights  that 
the  foreigner  has?  Tell  me  what  right  he  has  to  any 
thing  in  this  country.  I  never  yet  could  find  the  man 
who  could  tell  me  of  a  single  thing  to  which  a  foreiga- 
er  was  entitled  here,  until  the  people,  in  their  sovereign 
capacity  and  generosity  choose  to  give  it  to  him." — 

This  then  is  the  doctrine  of  American  Republican-    " 
ism.     This  double-distilled  essence  of  despotism,  was    o 
proclaimed  in  Faneuil  Hall  by  a  traveling  apostle,  as     o 
the  creed  of  this  new  political  party.     It  was  received 
there    with    applause.      I    blush    for    my    townsmen 
when  I  write  it !     If  no  living  voice  of  rebuke  was      c 
heard,  at  least  the  venerable  portraits  on  those  conse- 
crated walls,  must  have  sighed  out  a  lament  ©ver  their 
degenerate  sons  !     What ! — are  Mr.  Green,  and  the  Bos- 
tonians  who  formed  his  audience,  now  to  hear,  for  the 
first  time,  of  the  Rights  of  man — rights  which  apper- 
tain  equally   to   all  members  of  the   human    family, 

o 

wherever  born?     "What    are  the  rights  that  the  for- 
eigner has?"'  quoth  Mr.  Green, — and  an  audience   of 
Bostonians   re-echoed   the   question.       They   arc    the  ° 
rights  of  man, — the  same  rights  that  you  have,  and  that  "'o 
1  have.     It  is  upon  these  rights  that  our  free  constitu-  g 
tions  are  based.     The  people,  in  adopting  those  consti-c 
tutions,  have  but  proclaimed  these  rights,  not  enacted 

o°     ° 

o  =00  o 

0  " 

O  o  o  O 

°  o 


thorn.  God  forbid  that  our  rights  should  depend  upon 
the  good  will,  or  be  held  by  the  allowance  of  any  des- 
<pot  whether  with  one  liead,  or  a  million.     The  sover- 

o  eignty  of  the  people  is  but  a  limited  sovereignty :  tliey 
ni^ither  created  the  rights  of  man,  nor  can  they  take 
them  away. 

This  is  the  grand  fundamental  principle  of  our  Amer- 
ican democracy;  it  is  tliis  which  distmguishes  it  from 
every  government  that  ever  existed ;  nor  do  I  believe 

=>  o<hat  of  all  the  immigrants  who  ever  landed  on  our 
«hojes,  there  could  be  found  one  so  benighted,  as  not  to 
haVe  had  at  least  some  glimmering  idea  however  in- 
distinct, of  this*  great  principle.  It  is  indeed  the  light 
of  this  principle  gleaming  in  the  far-olf  western  horizon, 
that  attracts,  more  than  any  thing  else,  so  many  for- 
eigners to  our  shores.  It  is  not  so  much  bread  they 
seek,  it  is  not  so  much  money,  it  is  human  rights.     Yet 

°  Mr.  Green  and  his  Boston  applauders,  were  ignorant  of 
this  principle,  or  forgot  it !  Born  and  bred  in  tlie  full 
blj^e  of  the  light,  they  saw  it  not.  Had  they  been  serfs 
frf'sh  from  the  plains  of  Russia,  or  eunuchs  from  the 

'    "seraglios  of  Constantinople,  they  could  not  have  exhib- 
ited a  more  total  ignorance  of  the  very  principles  upon 
which  our  political  system  is  founded.     And  yet  they 
"  presume  to  call  themselves  Republicans, — yes,  Ameri- 
CEfti   Republicans  !     I  say  to  these  political  pharisecs, 

'  "  first  cast  the  beam  out  of  your  own  eyes,  and  then 
you  may  see  clearly  to  cast  the  mote  out  of  your  brolh- 

, i  er's  eye."     First  acquire  yourselves  some  little  knowl- 
edge of  the  first  principles  of  our  govcrnniont,  and  it 
^will  tlien  be  quite  time  to  propose  to  disfranchise  others 
for  their  political  ignorance  ! 

*  ,    A  Ji/th  charge  brought  against  our  foreign-born  ciii- 


3 

c 


o  eg 

25  "^        ^ 


zens  is,  that  they  are  obstinately  attached  to  the  usages 
and  manners  of  ^their  native  countries,^  and  are  quite 
indisposed  to  assimilate  with  us. 

It  would  be  strange  indeed,  it  might  well  consfitute 
a  serious  charge  against  our  immigrant  population,  if  in 
coming  liither,  they  were  to  throw  off  all  recollections 
of  their  father-land,  all  regard,  sympathy,  and  tender- 
ness for  it.     No  wonder  that  they  remain  attached  to 

qC 

whatever  may  serve  to  remind  them  of  the  pleasant 
days  of  childhood,  to  call  up  before  their  eyes  the 
mother  who  carefully  tended  their  infancy,  the  father 
upon  whose  knees  they  played,  the  cottage  abrJ'ut  whor.e 
door  they  sported.  No  wonder,  if  when  reinoved  far 
away  to  this  western  world,  they  fondly  cling  to  what- 
ever tends  to  renew  and  brighten  such  sweet  and  tender 
recollections.  Otherwise  they  were  not  men.  Neither 
are  they  to  be  blamed,  but  on  the  contraryS|o  be  highly' 
commended,  for  continuing  to  feel  a  strong  and  deep 
interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  political  destiny  of  the 

o 
countrymen    they    have   left    behind.       But  %  it    be 

alleged  that  these  sentiments  of  natural  afrectiofi°make^ 

them  insensible  of  the  oppressions  from  which  theyVave 

escaped,  or  cause  them  to  undervalue  the  liberty  they^ 

have  acquired,  the  charge  is  false ;    nor  is  there  any 

thing  in  the  history  of  the  country  to  giveoany  coiyite- 

nance  to  it.     In  fact,  it  is  their  very  attachment  to, our 

democratic  institutions,  which  renders  them  objects  of 

such  bitter  dislike  to  one  great  section  of  the  Native 

American  party.     They  are  too  good  democrj^ts,  they      o 

are  too  strongly  attached  to  the  doctrine  of  hberUr  and 

equality,  to  give  satisfaction  to  those  who  hold  4iiver-° 

sal  suffrage  in  abhorrence.     In  the  eyes  of  these  persons 

'^  o 

3 


O  °'3 

O 


26 


o 


°  ^    otheir  great  political  sin  consists  in  what  is  denominated 

o 

their  radicalism,  that  is  to  say,  their  dread  and  dislike 
^     of  that  aristocratical  system,  of  which  they  have  had 
o      such  hitter  experience  at  home. 
°    ?     o  It  is  charged,  sixthly,   against  the  immigrants,  that 
'^  they  suffer  themselves  to  be  made  the  instruments  of 
great  political  frauds.     It  is  alleged  that  the  leaders  or 
active  agents  of  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties,  have 
°been  in  the  habit  of  bringing  up  great  numbers  of  im- 
°      naturalized  foreigners  to  the  polls,  and  of  causing  indi- 
0        vyiiials  among  them  to  vote  many  times  over,  thus,  in 
closely  contested  elections,  determining  the  majority. 
°  o  A  great  hue  and  cry  is  raised  about  election  frauds, 

cfl^his  is  a  crime  which  both  parties  charge  upon  each 
other.     The  charges  are  very  sweeping;   the  proofs,  in 
-      ,  general,  very  slender.     It  is  dillicult  to  tell   how  much 
° ,°' o    to  believe.     Yet  take  every  thing  that  is  alleged  for 
^  granted,  and   it   is  still   evident  that  the   immigrants 
°„  ^*    are  not  principals  in  this  business,  but  only  instruments 
°  V     and  accessories.     Why  not  proceed  at  once  against  the 
„  o  V    principals  7     The  law  is  ample  to  punish  such  offences, 
°7o°    or  might  easily  be  made  so.     The  courts  are  open.     It 
g     ,     is  plain  that  no  change  in  tlie  naturalization  laws,  not 
^       even  their  total  repeal,  would  remedy  the  evil ;  nor  would 
that  object  be  accomplished  even  by  the  total  exclusion 
of  foreigners  from  the  country.     So  long  as  political  lead- 
ers can   tamper  with  the  ballot-boxes  with  impunity, 
(^      they  will  never  be  without  the  means  of  maiuifacturing 
<.°°  "    spurious  votes. 
»o  We  come  now  to  the  sei-enth   and  last  great  charge 

q"""  against  our  foreign  fellow-citizens, — that  which  in  the 
■|  \  minds  of  the  largest  and  most  respectable  section  of  the 
I*     s    American  Republicans,  has  more  weight  than  all  the 


a 


<!. 


o  27  ^       °  °    o     " 

'-^  O  o 

rest, — the  cliarge,  namely,  that  they  are  CathoHcs,  and  ^ 
as  such,  necessarily  hostile  to  our  republican  institutions, 
and  ready  instruments  in  the  hands  of  their  priests  lor  o      „ 
the  establishment  of  a  spiritual  and  temporal  despotism. 
This  subject  has  already  been  adverted  to ;  but  its  im-  \^ 
portance  justifies  the  reconsideration  of  it.  °  ^      »%^ 

In  the  first  place,  this  charge  of  C|itholicism  does  nof    ° 
touch  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  immigrants       o 
aiuiually  arriving  among  us,  nearly  or   quite  h^lf  of  "o 
whom  are  Protestants;  while  it  does  include jio  incon- 
siderable number  of  native-born  citizens,  to  whom  the„ 
Catholic  faith  has  descended  as  a  religious  inheritancCo      ° 

o  ° 

from  some  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  country  ;  or  who  ° 
have  been  persuaded  to  adopt  it  upon  conviction  of  its         „ 

truth.  o 

o 

The  Anti-Catholics  are  in  fact  quite  a  distinct  party 
from  the  anti-foreigners,  though  the  two  factions  have      „ 
thought  it  best  to  strengthen  themselves  for  tlie  mo- 
ment, by  uniting.  °  o        "  "     » 

We  must  carefully  distinguish  also  bel.A«een  the  Cath- 
olic clergy  and  the  Catholic  laity.     The  great  body  ofo  „ 
the  Catholic  laity,  have  no  other  reason  for  being  Cath-     o 
olic  except  that  they  were  bred  so ;  the  same  reason,  °   -> 
ill  fact,  which  the  body  of  their  Protestant  fellmv-citi-     °o 
zens  liave,  for  being  Baptists,  Methodists  or  Presbyteri-     o 
aus.     They  are  not  zealots ;  and  though   like  the  mass 
of  the  IVotestants,  they  are  willing  to  go  to  churdi  and 
to  pay  the  usual  church  dues,  having  been   taught  to 
regard  that  as  but  decent  and  proper, — tliey  are  no  more    °  oo 
under  the  control  of  the  clergy,  and  namore  disposed  to 
submit  to  spiritual  dictation,  than  their  felloy-citizenS>  ^ 
the  Protestants.     As  happens  among  th|3  Protestants,    ^° 

o  O    o 


o 

'  o 


c  g 


o 
o 


Oc 


r."    * 


*"   "  28 

there  are  ten  Catholic  women  who  are  priest-ridden,  to 
one  man. 

As  far  as  regards  the  Catholic  clergy,  it  need  not  be 
denied  that  as  a  body,  and  with  many  individual  ex- 
ceptions, they  are  ambitious,  aspiring,  grasping,  and 
ought  to  be  carefully  watched.  But  the  same  is  true 
of  the  Protestant  clergy ;  and  as  they  are  far  more  nu- 
merous and  far  more  powerful,  any  danger  to  our  lib- 
erties from  priestly  ambition,  ought,  for  the  present 
at  least,  to  be  rather  apprehended  from  them.  Have 
we  not  just  seen  a  great  convention  of  the  evan- 
gelical sects  assembled  at  Baltimore,  to  contrive 
means  for  enforcing  a  more  rigorous  and  puritanical 
observance  of  Sunday,  or  as  they  affectedly  call  it,  the 
Sabbath  ?  Have  not  these  same  Sabbath  zealots  made 
strenuous  efforts  to  stop  the  Sunday  mails,  and  Sunday 
conveyances  1  Have  they  not,  in  many  places,  by 
law,  prevented  the  barbers,  confectioners,  and  news- 
men from  opening  their  shops  on  Sundays,  and  other- 
wise interfered  with  the  business  and  recreations  of  the 
citizens?  It  may  be  said  that  these  are  small  matters; 
but  whether  large  or  small,  if  the  Catholics  had  at- 
tempted one  hundredth  part  as  much  towards  impos- 
ing their  particular  views  and  observances  on  the 
community,  the  country  would  have  rung  with  it  from 
one  end  to  the  other  ! 

We  are  told  fearful  tales  about  the  army  of  nuns  and 
Jesuits  in  the  service  of  the  pope.  But  have  we  not 
quite  as  much  to  fear  from  those  bodies  of  Protestant 
Jesuits,  male  and  female,  the  church  members  of  the 
several  great  Protestant  sects?  I  call  them  Protestant 
Jesuits  without  intending  any  offence,  but  merely  to  in- 
dicate their  relation  to  the  sects  to  which  they  belong. 


29         o    ,  8 

G  .-,  o         ,,        O 

°  o 

c 

They  are  persons  having  a  semi-clericai  character,  (Jcr 
voted  as  they  say,  to  God  and  religion — ^jnst  what  the 
Jesnits  say  of  tliemselves — and  ready  to  compass  the 
earth,  as  they  do  with  their  missionary  societies,  ^to 
extend  the  dominion  ot  their  sect  by  making  one  prose- 
lyte. ^    ,      .,  ^    " 

All  religionists  are  despots   in  principle,   hostfle  t5  ^ 
civil,  as  well  as  religious  liberty.     They  inculcate  to, 
the  mass,  implicit  faith,  profound  submission,  and  hum- 
ble obedience,  as  thcogreatest  of  virtues.     The  only  dif-    < 
ference  on  this  point,  between  Catholics  and  Protestants 
is, — who  is  to  be  obeyed, — to  whom  is  this  submission 
due?     The   Catholic   religionists   gay,  it  is  due  tb  the 
pope  and  to  the  Catholic  church,  that  is,  the  Catholic 
clergy;  the  Protestant  religionists  say,  it  is  due, to  the° 
Bible, — which  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  it  is  ' 
due  to  themselves :  for  unless  you  look  upon  the  Bible 
as  they  do,  and  implicitly  receive  their  interpretation  of 
it  as   the  revealed   will  of  God,   they    denounce   you 
without  ceremony  as  errorists,  blasphemers  and  infidels, 
the  proper  objects  of  social  excommunication  and  legal 
punishments.     The  Catholic  clergy  pretend  that°tliey 
have  received  by  an  uninterrupted  tradition  from  Petcr° 
and  Paul  and  the  other  apostles,  an  exclusive  right  to 
administer  the  Christian  ordinances,    and   the   exclu- 
sive capacity  of  discerning  religious  truth.     The  Prpt-*^ 
cstant  church  members  claim  to  have  received  each  a 
call  from  God,  to  have  undergone  a  miraculous  change, 
whereby  their  minds  have  been  enlightened,  their  stony 
hearts  turned  to  llesh,  and  they  alone  of  all  men  made 
capable  of  discerning  trutli  and  acting  right,  while  alj, 
the  rest  of  the  world  are  left  wallowing  in  the^pitof 
darkness  and  filth  of  iniquity.  o       o  3#  » 


%,  O  0  0 


o      " 

°    ;  30 


»   o  Comparing  these  two  sets  of  pretensions,  we  find  that 

°in  arrogance  of  claim  the  Protestant  professors  do  not 

fall  one  whit  below  the  Catholic  clergy.     This  indeed, 

o 

is  the  true  source  of  that  furious  zeal  against  Cath- 
olicisih,  which  so  many  Protestant  zealots  have  lately 
"exhibited.  Before  the  Catholic  faith  began  to  be  dif- 
fused  among  us,  there  was  hardly  any  body  to  contro- 
°  vert  thte  lofty  pretensions  of  our  self-constituted  saints. 
It  is  true  the  Unitarians  and  Universalists  did  modestly 
suggest  some  doubts.  But  they  were  few,  feeble,  and 
timid;  and  assuming  the  Bible  as  an  inspired  and  invin- 
ciblcr  authority,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Orthodox 
have  altogether  the  best  of  the  argument. 

Tlie  Catholic  clergy  encounter  our  Protestant  dicta- 
tors in  another  spirit,  and  with  other  arms.    They  meet 
o  arrogance  with  arrogance,  and  claim  with  claim.  They 
too  fjossess  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  tradition  to 
boot;  while  they  denounce  the  pretended  election,  sanc- 
tification,  and  enlightenment  of  the  Protestant  zealots 
as  no  better  than  delusions  of  the  devil.     It  is  this  that 
'   stings  them  to  the  quick.     It  is  this  that  makes  them 
'■■ "  ready  to  put  down  the  Catholic  faith,  by  lies,  by  sfan- 
ders,    by   proscriptive  laws,   by  prohibiting   Gatliolics 
from  coming  into  the  country,  if  need  be,  by  riot,  fire, 
and  sword.     Ignorant  and  thoughtless  mobs  were  the 
mstrumcnts,  but  it  was  Protestant  doctors  of  divinity 
who  .lighted  the  torches,  that  set  fire  to  the  convent  of 
Mount  Benedict !  It  was  these  same  doctors  who  array- 
ed l^rotcstants  and  Catholics  with  arms  in  their  hands, 
and  caused  the  streets  of  unhappy  Philadelphia  to  be 
°    baptised  in  blood  ! 

Let  it  not  be  overlooked  that  the  first  of  that  series  of 
mobocratic  acts,  by  which,  for  some  twelve  years  past, 


o 


8 


s 


^  -.06 


o  -  „     o 


these  United  States  have  been  disgraced,  occurred  in 
the  sober,  and  peaceful  CommonweaUh  of  Massachu-" 
setts,  in  the  close  vicinity  of  the  enlightened  city  of 
Boston,  and  was  a  natural  result  of  the  laborious  dis- 
semination of  slanderous  accusations,  the  diligent  stir- 
ring  up  of  old  prejudices  against  the  Catholics,  on  the 
part  of  spiritual  rivals.  Let  it  not  be  overlooked,  that 
the  first  affray  assuming  the  character  of  civil  war,  in 
which  American  citizens  have  shed  each  other's  blood, 
occurred  in  this  same  religious  quarrel,  making  i(^ 
necessary  to  subject  to  martial  law  what  was  once  the 
most  staid,  peaceful  and  tolerant  of  our  cities.   ^ 

If  the  spirit  of  religious  hatred  has  made'^such  a  pro-o 
gress  in  twelve  years,  what  have  we  not  to  dread  for 
the  future?  Shall  religious  zealots  be  allowed  to  involve  ^^ 
the  country  in  the  most  terrible  of  all  calamities,  a  war° 
of  religion  1  The  great  mass  of  the  men  of  tliese  United 
States  are  not  zealots.  They  profess  to  bdong  to  some 
religious  sect ;  but  that  same  liberty  of  worship  which 
they  claim  for  themselves,  they  are  willing  to  allow  to 
others.  Let  then  the  reasonable  and  moderate,  with 
whatever  religious  sect  they  may  be  connected,  unite 
together  for  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace.  Let 
the  bigots  of  all  sects,  be  given  plainly  to  understand, 
tliat  they  must  confine  themselves  to  a  war  of  words, — 
that  they  cannot  be  allowed  to  press  fire,  gunpowder, 
mobs,  and  penal  enactments  into  the  service  of  "what 
they  call  religion. 

The  Romish  church,  whatever  we  may  think  of  it, 
or  however  Protestant  clergymen  in  their  prayers  and 
sermons  may  publicly  denounce  it  as  "the  soarlet  whore, 
the  mother  of  harlots," — is  yet  the  fruitful  mother  of 
all  the  Protestant  sects.    Catholicism  may  disown  them 


,     o 


:32 

as  bastards,  but  that  various  brood  are  her  natural  pro- 
geny. The  Cathohc,  is  still  the  religious  faith  of  three 
fourths  of  Christendom ;  it  is  the  established  religion  of 
some  of  the  most  enlightened  countries  in  the  world. 
If  we  have  no  principle  about  it,  no  veneration  for  his- 
torical Christianity,  no  regard  for  the  sacred  rights  of 
conscience  and  opinion,  yet  a  decent  respect  for  the  preju- 
dices of  our  brethren,  with  the  very  smallest  tincture  of 
common  sense,  ought  tosave  us  from  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing by  penal  laws,  and  civil  disabilities,  by  the  old 
worn-out,  cast-off  expedient  of  persecution,  to  exclude 
the  Catholic  faith  from  our  country.  The  little  success 
which  our  Puritan  fathers  had  in  the  use  of  these  same 
weapons  against  Q,uakers  and  Baptists,  might  serve  as 
a  warning  to  our  modern  Puritans.  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church;  and  however  the  martyr 
spirit  may  have  died  out  in  the  Protestant  sects,  Cath- 
olicism has  never  yet  wanted  tliose  to  whom  the  crown 
of  martyrdom  was  the  object  of  the  most  ardent  desire. 
It  is  not  persecution  that  Catholicism  dreads.  What 
she  fears,  what  she  shrinks  from,  is,  that  still  small 
voice  of  reason  scarcely  heard  amid  the  worlds  hub- 
bub, but  which,  like  the  constantly  dropping  water, 
gradually  wears  away  the  most  solid  fabric  of  super- 
stition. 

It  is  one  of  the  professed  objects  of  the  American 
Republicans  "  to  prevent  all  union  of  church  and 
state."  {Crisis p.  8.)  This  object  they  propose  to  ac- 
complish by  forming  a  union  between  the  state  and  the 
Protestant  churclies,  for  the  purpose  of  disfranchising 
their  Catholic  fellow  citizens  !  It  is  not  by  such  means 
that  the  union  of  church  and  state  is  to  be  prevented.  Most 
fortunate  it  is,  that  the  religious  zealots  are  split  up  into 


'       33 

so  many  sects  and  factions.  Were  they  united  in  one 
compact  body,  with  all  their  zeal,  and  untiring  energy, 
and  with  their  great  influence  over  the  public  mind,  it 
would  not  be  long  before  they  bent  the  state  to  their 
purpose.  United  they  might  easilyconvert  their  spiritual, 
into  a  civil,  aristocracy  such  as  existed  in  Massachu- 
setts in  the  days  of  the  Puritans,  when  no  body  but 
church-members  had  the  right  to  vote,  and  nobody 
could  become  a  church-member  except  by  the  consent 
and  admission  of  those  who  already  were  so.  It  is  in 
the  division,  the  mutual  hostility  and  distrust  of  re- 
ligionists, that  our  only  safety  lies.  They  control 
already  all  the  schools  and  seminaries  of  education  ; 
they  have  a  most  extensive  influence  over  the  public 
press ;  and  if  they  could  only  unite,  they  would  carry 
every  thing  before  them.  Our  only  safety  consists  in 
their  divisions;  and  just  in  proportion  as  they  go 
on  dividing  and  comminuting,  does  liberty  of  opinion 
and  action  upon  religious  subjects,  begin  to  establish 
itself 

All  those  wlio  do  not  regard  the  predominancy  of 
some  particular  religious  sect  as  the  great  panacea  for 
all  social  evils;  all  those  to  whatever  sect  they  may 
nominally  belong,  who  are  really  attached  to  freedom 
of  opinion,  will  unite  to  preserve  this  balance  of  spiritual 
power,  will  take  care  that  the  stronger  sects  are  not 
allowed  to  devour  the  weaker.  Once  give  these  religious 
zealots  a  taste  of  persecution,  and  their  appetite  will 
become  -insatiable ;  those  who  combine  to  devour  a 
weaker  sect,  that  sect  out  of  the  way,  will  presently  be- 
gin to  tear  each  other. 

There  is  still  another  point  upon  which  the  profes- 
sions of  the  American  Republicans,  are  quite  at  variance 


.  .      34 

with  the  necessary  tendency  of  their  doctrines,  and 
proposed  measures.  They  profess  not  to  wish  to  put  a 
stop  to  foreign  immigration,  but  only  to  Umit  the  right  of 
citizenship.  Btit  if  their  principles  arc  to  be  adopted,  it 
were  better  for  all  parties,  to  come  np  to  the  mark  at 
once,  and  peremptorily  to  exclude  all  foreigners  from 
settling  in  the  country.  Such  is  the  policy  of  the 
Chinese, — a  policy  which  according  to  John  Q,.  Adams, 
is  an  outrage  upon  all  civilized  nations,  and  a  suflicient 
excuse  for  the  war  lately  waged  by  England  against 
them.  *  *     • 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  that  we  are  to  have  grow- 
ing up  a  numerous,  and  presently  a  wealthy  body, 
among  us  but  not  of  us, — marked  as  aliens,  cut  off 
from  the  possession  of  civic  rights^  hostile  therefore  to 
us,  nourishiuj,  bitter  feelings  of  hate  and  indignation, 
and  ready  to  join  any  foreign  invader,  or  to  take  part  in 
any  domestic  insurrection,  by  which  our  peace  might 
be  disturbed.  This  was  the  policy  of  most  of  the  an- 
cient Greek  republics;  but  they  paid  dearly  for  it. 
They  were  perpetually  torn  by  civil  contentions, 
and  they  all  at  length  fell  a  prey  to  foreign  invaders. 
The  Romans  wore  wiser;  they  admiUed  tlie  vanquished 
nations  of  Italy  to  the  rights  of  citizenship,  and  thus 
strengthened  themselves  for  new  con(iuests. 
■  The  people  of  the  United  States  must  renounce  the 
fundamental  principles  of  democracy,  they  must  sub- 
scribe to  an  entirely  different  system  of  political  doc- 
trines, before  they  can  adopt  the  measures  recommended 
by  the  American  Republicans.  This  is  what  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  are  not  yet  prepared  to  do.  Native 
Americanism  is  a  good  enough  hobby  for  monied  and 
religious  aristocrats,  for  political  adventurers  and  na- 


35 

tive-born  loafers  to  ride,  but  it  is  not  the  sort  of  loco- 
motive to  which  the  true  and  sincere  friends  of  liberty 
and  equal  rights,  will  choose  to  trust  themselves.  It  is 
rather  too  crab-like  in  its  gait.  The  American  people 
are  not  yet  ready  to  begin  to  advance  backv/ards. 

It  is  highly  proper  that  before  admitting  foreign  im- 
migrants to  the  rights  of  citizenship,  the  law  should 
subject  them  to  a  reasonable  probation,  aud  should  re- 
quire proof  of  their  bona  fide  intention  to  become  Amer- 
ican citizens.  If,  as  is  alleged,  the  present  naturalization 
laws  are  liable  to  be  evaded  by  the  artful  frauds  and 
perjuries  of  political  hacks,  let  them  be  amended  in 
those  particulars, — though  perhaps,  after  all,  the  best 
security  against  this  sort  of  frauds  will  be  found,  in  the 
rigid  prosecution  and  punishment  of  the  guilty  parties, 
those  more  especially,  who  are  the  authors  of  the  crime, 
the  politicians,  the  contrivers  and  promoters  of  these 
frauds. 

Such  is  a  brief  but  comprehensive  account  of  this  new 
American  Republican  party,  i^  composition,  allega- 
tions, propjsals,  aims  and  tendencies.  It  has  not  been 
an  object  to  treat  this  new  party  with  harshness;  but 
it  was  necessary  to  speak  with  plainness  and  emphasis, 
in  order  that  the  many  liable  to  be  deceived  and  led 
away  by  bold  assertions  and  plausible  declamations, 
might  be  made  to  understand  in  precisely  what  sort  of 
an  enterprise  tliey  were  about  to  embark,  and  under 
what  sort  of  leaders. 

Upon  those,  and  they  are  but  too  numerous,  the  de- 
scendants and  representatives  of  the  old  federalists,  who 
in  their  hearts,  whatever  masks  they  may  put  on,  or 
grimaces  they  may  make  in  public,  are  enemies  to  the 


36 

principles  of  democracy,  holding  the  idea  of  universal 
political  equality  in -utter  abhorrence, — upon  such,  it 
were  vain  to  expect  to  make  any  impression,     Jnst  as 
little  hope  is  there  of  moving  those  Protestant  zealots, 
unfortunately  also  too  numerous,  who  regard  the  Cath- 
olics with  all  the  traditionary  hate  and  prejudices  of 
three  centuries  of  religious  struggles  ;   for  however  they 
may  descant  in  public  about  the  virtue  and  the  bless- 
'"gs  of  toleration,  they  secretly  long  to  retort  upon  their 
Catholic  brethren  of  the  present  day,  the  fires  of  Smith- 
field  and  the  racks  of  the  inquisition.    We  hardly  need 
expect   to  bring  over  to  the  side  of  reason,  justice  and 
common   sense,  the   political  adventurers  whose  only 
hope  consists  in  the  triumph  of  passion  and  prejudice, 
nor  that  crowd  of  thoughtless  boys  and  grog-shop  loung- 
ers, who  find  in   riot  and  arson  a  pleasurable  amuse- 
ment; and  who  are  always  ready  to  do  the  bidding  of 
more  discreet  and  cautious  prompters. 

But  the  great  mass  of  the  thoughtful,  prudent  and 
sober  citizens,  however  they  may  have  yielded  to  the 
first  impulse  of  prcjuc^ces  and  antipathies  in  t-he  midst 
of  which  they  have  grown  up,  and  which  so  much 
pains  have  been  taken  to  intiame  and  excite,  will  be 
very  cautious  how  they  give  in  their  permanent  adhe- 
rence to  this  new  party.  They  will  look  carefully  to 
it,  lest  they  lose  the  substance  in  clutching  at  a  shad- 
ow; they  will  take  good  heed  lest  in  assailing  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  others,  they  prepare  the  way  for  the 
sacrifice  of  their  own. 


